Science with Integral – five years on

Artist's view of Integral

17 October 2007

With eyes that peer into the most energetic phenomena in the universe, ESA’s Integral has been setting records, discovering the unexpected and helping scientists understand the unknown over its first five years.

Integral was launched on 17 October 2002, and is controlled by the Integral Flight Control Team from ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre.

Since launch, the satellite has helped scientists make great strides in understanding the gamma-ray universe - from the atoms that make up all matter, giant black holes, mysterious gamma-ray bursts to the densest objects in the universe.